+ Review: Away We Go …By Alex

Well written and rooted in reality, Away We Go is a wonderfully contemporary (albeit imperfect) look at the young American family.

Burt and Verona, expecting their first child, explore America and forgotten friendships in search of a new home.

Writer Dave Eggers treads on some turf that will be familiar to those that know his writing well, but delivers a story that is as unique and essential as the best of his prose.  Unfortunately, Mendes’ overbearing soundtrack and his direction of certain characters (Krazinski and Daniels especially) saps the originality from the film, undoing the grit of Eggers’ script and replacing it with a sheen of the all too common zany-naturalism that was made profitable by Juno.

Krazinski’s Burt proves to be the most frustrating, as the truth of his character can be felt in his dialogue and seen in how he inhabits his role, but the actor’s delivery and mugging carry with them the same surrealism that infects his portrayal of Jim on the office.  He is not someone that you forget is acting on screen.  However, the moments that Krasinski shines are the strongest of the film, and the innate wide-eyed optimism he exudes is not just welcoming to see, but a true representation of the mood of the nation’s new adults.

The remaining performances of Maya Rudolf and the supporting cast are vibrant and naturalistic, though they do not hold a candle to the gravitas of Burt.  Rudolf in particular demonstrates a sincere understanding of how to depict true emotion and eccentricity, and her performance is so natural that it could easily be forgettable, if not for the emotional heights her character achieves.

In the end, Away We Go is an occasionally lost, but completely rewarding experience.